


The Apple Pie Life (Part IV)

by wordstothewisereaders



Series: The Apple Pie Life [4]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Anxiety, Baker!Dean, DeanCas - Freeform, Destiel - Freeform, Florist!Cas, Fluff, M/M, SPN - Freeform, Straight up fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-17
Updated: 2017-07-17
Packaged: 2018-12-03 05:16:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,352
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11525316
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wordstothewisereaders/pseuds/wordstothewisereaders
Summary: The three days without new flowers were quite possibly three of the longest and most agonizing days of Dean's life. He paced. He worked. He sat and overthought. He did everything he could to unknowingly amp up his anxiety. But when an unexpected surprise shows up soon after, he figures that everything might just be alright after all.





	The Apple Pie Life (Part IV)

**Author's Note:**

> I apologize for the HTML format for the past few things. The version on here that lets me use italics and whatnot hasn't been working, so...yeah. This is the last part of TAPL, even though I'm working on an epilogue. I hope y'all enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it!! <3

Though he knew it was irrational, Dean would have sworn that his heart was going to beat out of his chest as fast and hard as it was racing right then. He could recall only few times it had ever thumped so vigorously, like the few times his father physically - rather than vocally - confronted him after a late night at the bar, or a year ago when his little brother left him for his first year of Stanford. 

It was exhilarating and terrifying all at the same time as he stood at the already locked door of the flower shop. His heart sped up even faster as he knocked. The three seconds it took for the man on the other side to turn around felt like they were playing out in slow-motion. 

Dean's grip on the box in his hand tightened as he locked eyes with the blue-eyed florist through the clear glass door. He watched as the man walked the few it took to reach the door. He watched as his large hand reached for the door knob, pulling open the only thing separating them thus far. He took a deep breath, mentally preparing himself in the split second he had and -

***

The three days without new flowers were quite possibly three of the longest and most agonizing days of Dean's life. He paced. He worked. He sat and overthought. He did everything he could to unknowingly amp up his anxiety. 

By the second day, he had come to the conclusion that the cupcakes were a mistake. It was too much, or not enough, or just a bad idea, period. He mulled over how it went wrong for so long, and lost so much sleep over it, that it nearly made him sick. If the flowers stopped when I started, does that mean it really was him? Dean couldn't make up his mind, but it was driving him insane. 

By the third day, Dean decided to close the shop just until the next day. He had hardly gotten three hours of sleep between the last two nights and was about ready to crash. There was no way he was going to let himself ice a birthday cake half-asleep and half delirious. Instead, he folded out his sofa bed - which was only ever used unless Sam spent the night, which was often. Dean was surprised that his brother hadn't moved in with him. The idea had been thrown around as soon as Dean bought his own place away from their exhausting father. It was only a night or two of the week they weren't together anyway.

Dean nestled into a pile of blankets, deciding to keep the TV off and the noise to a minimum. He fell asleep after laying in comforting silence for a while, only disturbed when Pudding the cat jumped up and nestled into his side. He napped off and on until the next morning, where all of his troubles were thrown out the window.

***

Never in his life had Dean been more happy to see an Aloe Vera plant. In fact, he was pretty sure he had never seen one in real life before that moment. But the relief and excitement that tiny plant sitting in the bakery's windowsill brought was incomparable to the miniscule detail. 

The baker gently picked up the plant, turning it over in his hands as he opened the note attached. He grinned widely when he saw the words inside.

Aloe you very much.

Dean unlocked slowly, too busy genuinely smiling for the first time in days. Could it really be him? It has to be. 

The next seven or so hours were unnerving but in a different way than they had been for the earlier part of the week. He was still eager to close, but only so that he could take the honey pie he spent nearly two hours on across the street. The smile he wore was so bright, he even had his brother asking what was wrong. It was pretty refreshing. 

7:00 came after what felt like hours longer than it should have. Dean locked up as quickly as he could, hustling across the street as he desperately tried to make it before the florist went upstairs to his home. He sighed as he saw the man turn away from the door already, speeding up to make it before it was too late. 

That's how Dean got where he was then, panting and out of breath with a box of pie on the doorstep of a flower shop.

***

The florist's brilliant blue eyes went wide as Dean smiled shyly at him. It was the first time he had seen his shocking eyes, and he would have sworn he fell just a little bit deeper into whatever they had going when he heard the man's gravelly voice. 

"Um...Hello." 

"Hi..." Dean answered awkwardly, not quite sure what to do. They stared intently at one another for a moment, each taking the other in. Dean noticed that they were about the saw height. The florist's hair was far darker than his, sticking up messily like he forgot to brush it. He had a sharp jawline and was wearing a nice blue sweater, which was just a touch too big and that made his eyes pop, and jeans. "I - uh - I'm Dean. Dean Winchester." 

Cas reached to take the hand Dean had outstretched to shake, "Castiel Novak. Cas, if you'd like."

"I brought you this." Dean stuttered as Cas let go of his hand. He was surprised he could say that much.

He watched the man - no, Cas - take it, opening it to find the pie inside. Dean thought he saw his eyes widen some more, and his lips parted in what appeared to be either awe or shock. 

"It - you - I don't know what to say." Cas said bewilderedly. 

"Oh, well...I - God, this seems so stupid now," Dean said partially to himself as he rubbed the back of his neck nervously. He had mistaken Cas' surprise for something that meant it wasn't him. "You weren't the one who brought the flowers, were you?" 

Cas' face turned bright red, and he swiped a hand over his face nervously. It took a moment for him to compose himself. "So you know about that, huh?"

"It was you?" Dean asked. Now it was his turn to be bewildered. 

"Yes. I thought it was a long shot..." Cas muttered. "If it made you uncomfortable or anything, I understand. You can leave and we never have to talk to each other again and -"

"Cas." Dean interjected. "I brought the cupcakes."

Cas' cheeks became redder at Dean's outburst, and he set the pie on the counter out of fear of dropping it with his increasingly unsteady hands. 

Dean grinned. 

"Well, would you like to come in and talk? It's not much but we can make it work." Cas asked as he gestured. 

"Yeah, I'd like that a lot."

***

The pair ended up side by side on the fire escape, each with a slice of Dean's pie on their laps. They introduced themselves to one another, gave the other their story. It was one of the sweetest moments either had ever had. 

"Hey, Cas?"

"Yeah?

"So, did you mean it?" Dean asked.

"Mean what?" Cas responded, wringing his hands.

"That last one...with the Aloe? Did you mean it?" Dean clarified, heart beginning to race again.

"Um...yeah." Cas said nervously, looking out at the bakery that was considerably smaller from their view. 

"Hey, Cas?" 

"Yeah?"

"Me too."

Dean gently laid a warm hand on Cas' cheek, watching as he turned his head. Cas placed a hand on Dean's side. It was like they moved as one after that, both leaning in. 

That first kiss was better than either ever imagined. It didn't set off fireworks, nor did sparks fly. There wasn't a world-changing epiphany or anything like that. 

What there was was the feeling of contentment that neither had had in a long time. 

'Yeah,' Dean thought as his lips moved against Cas'. 'This is home.'


End file.
